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Green beans with butter and bacon is a hearty and flavor-filled side dish that takes green beans from plain to irresistible with just a handful of ingredients.
Growing up, we had a huge and luscious garden. My parents grew other things, but I mostly remember they grew LOTS of green beans. I can remember picking them in 5-gallon buckets and filling the buckets to the top. We played outside all summer long, but we were allowed to come in and watch a movie in the air-conditioned house when it was time to break beans. Breaking beans involved snapping off both tail-ends and breaking them into bite-sized pieces so that Mom could can them.
Mom and all of us kids could break beans for hours and still have some left to do. And as you could probably guess, I had a love-hate relationship with the process. Now, when I only have a pound or two of beans to break, it seems like such a quick and easy task. So, this recipe is basically a treat anytime I get to whip it up! It’s perfect for the end of season overflowing garden, along with my Simple DIY Hummus Platter and The Life Changing Magic of the Veggie Box.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavor Combination: The savory bacon with the fresh green beans is so satisfying.
- Versatile Side Dish: These green beans go with just about everything.
- Simple Ingredients: With just three easy ingredients, they don’t get much more simple than this!
Ingredients
- Fresh Green Beans
- Bacon
- Butter
- Salt and Pepper
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
Popular Substitutions and Variations
- Saute’ some minced garlic with the bacon towards the end of it’s cooking time, being careful not to burn it, for a garlicky twist on this recipe.
- You could also caramelize some diced onion while the beans are cooking and add it to the green beans before serving.
How to Make Green Beans with Butter and Bacon
Step #1. Snap both ends off the beans. Leave whole or snap into smaller pieces as desired. Rinse with cold water.
Step #3. While the beans are simmering, fry the remaining pieces of bacon until very crisp. Let cool then chop well and set aside.
Step #2. Place the beans in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Add two slices of bacon to the pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25-45 minutes, checking often for doneness.
Step #4. Once the beans are done, discard the boiled bacon and drain the water. Put the beans in a serving dish, top with butter, bacon, and a heavy sprinkling of salt. Serve.
Recipe FAQs
This really depends on your beans. I’ve found that homegrown green beans need to be cooked longer than store-bought ones. Generally, it should take between 25 to 45 minutes, so just keep an eye on it!
Beans might be tough, stringy, and fibrous if they’re picked after they’re ripe. If they’re overripe, they begin to harden and get a less crunchy and more chewy and tough texture. It’s best to pick beans when their pods are still young and tender.
Green beans with bacon and butter are a perfect side dish for SO many meals! Pretty much anything that needs a vibrant and green side dish will go well with these. Traditionally, a lot of Southern food dishes, like fried chicken and mashed potatoes or pulled pork sandwiches, pair nicely with a side of hearty green beans.
Yes! You’ll be able to tell if your green beans are over-cooked. They get limp, soggy, and mushy, and they lose a lot of their bright green color and turn more of a moss green. Just keep an eye on yours as they boil to check that they don’t over-cook.
Expert Tips
- If you want your green beans to cook more quickly, you can cut them “French style” by slicing them in half the long way.
- To test the beans for doneness, take one out of the pot and take a bite – beans are done when they have just a tiny bit of crunch left.
- Be sure to sort through the fresh green beans and remove any that are bruised, wrinkled, shriveled, etc.
- Cutting your green beans to a uniform size helps them cook more evenly.
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Green Beans with Butter and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans
- 4 slices of bacon
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by breaking the beans. Snap off the little tails at both ends of the bean. You can leave the bean whole (as pictured) or break them into bite-sized pieces. It’s up to you.
- Rinse the beans in cold water.
- Place all of the beans in a medium saucepan, and cover completely with water. Add 2 slices of bacon to the beans. Make sure you use enough water to cover the beans, and bring the pot to a boil.
- Simmer for 25 to 45 minutes, checking for doneness along the way.
- While the beans are cooking, fry up the last 2 slices of bacon until very crisp. Allow the bacon to cool, chop it well, and set aside. When the beans are cooked to your liking, discard the boiled bacon (or feed it someone who will eat boiled bacon), and drain.
- Put the beans on your serving dish, top with butter, the crumbed bacon, and a heavy sprinkle of salt.
- Serve while pipin’ hot.
Notes
- This is a great way to spruce up canned and frozen green beans, too.
- Dirtying a pan for 2 slices of bacon is a shame. I normally fry a whole pound of bacon at a time and keep extras in the fridge for things like this. Just re-crisp the refrigerated bacon in the microwave.
- The cooking time has a wide range. I have found that store-bought fresh green beans don’t cook as long as garden fresh green beans. Yours will vary, too, so just keep an eye on them.
- You can add a couple of fat slices of onion to the beans while they are cooking if you like, too. It adds some great flavor.
That is the way you cook green beans in Indiana. Hubby still doesn’t understand the bacon part. It’s one of the few times I eat bacon.
Hoosiers put pork in all things don’t they! Oh how I love Indiana (and pork!)